“[I]f you cannot make pure goods and full weight, go to something else that is honest, even if it is breaking stone.” James Gamble, co-founder of The Procter and Gamble Company, from the mid-1800s. A ‘good’ that is ‘full weight’ is a product with an actual size that is true to its label; it delivers the product according to the listed size. While the quotation provided above is from some time ago, its principle continues to endure as a standard to which product manufacturers should aspire. And, this principle can be applied in many different contexts, including the embodiments of flexible containers described herein.
Fluent products include liquid products and/or pourable solid products. In various embodiments, a container can be used to receive, contain, and dispense one or more fluent products. And, in various embodiments, a container can be used to receive, contain, and/or dispense individual articles or separately packaged portions of a product. A container can include one or more product spaces. A product space can be configured to be filled with one or more fluent products. A container receives a fluent product when its product space is filled. Once filled to a desired volume, a container can be configured to contain the fluent product in its product space, until the fluent product is dispensed. A container contains a fluent product by providing a barrier around the fluent product. The barrier prevents the fluent product from escaping the product space. The barrier can also protect the fluent product from the environment outside of the container. A filled product space is typically closed off by a cap or a seal. A container can be configured to dispense one or more fluent products contained in its product space(s). Once dispensed, an end user can consume, apply, or otherwise use the fluent product(s), as appropriate. In various embodiments, a container may be configured to be refilled and reused or a container may be configured to be disposed of after a single fill or even after a single use. A container should be configured with sufficient structural integrity, such that it can receive, contain, and dispense its fluent product(s), as intended, without failure.
A container for fluent product(s) can be handled, displayed for sale, and put into use. A container can be handled in many different ways as it is made, filled, decorated, packaged, shipped, and unpacked. A container can experience a wide range of external forces and environmental conditions as it is handled by machines and people, moved by equipment and vehicles, and contacted by other containers and various packaging materials. A container for fluent product(s) should be configured with sufficient structural integrity, such that it can be handled in any of these ways, or in any other way known in the art, as intended, without failure.
A container can also be displayed for sale in many different ways as it is offered for purchase. A container can be offered for sale as an individual article of commerce or packaged with one or more other containers or products, which together form an article of commerce. A container can be offered for sale as a primary package with or without a secondary package. A container can be decorated to display characters, graphics, branding, and/or other visual elements when the container is displayed for sale. A container can be configured to be displayed for sale while laying down or standing up on a store shelf, while presented in a merchandising display, while hanging on a display hanger, or while loaded into a display rack or a vending machine. A container for fluent product(s) should be configured with a structure that allows it to be displayed in any of these ways, or in any other way known in the art, as intended, without failure.
A container can also be put into use in many different ways, by its end user. A container can be configured to be held and/or gripped by an end user, so a container should be appropriately sized and shaped for human hands; and for this purpose, a container can include useful structural features such as a handle and/or a gripping surface. A container can be stored while laying down or standing up on a support surface, while hanging on or from a projection such as a hook or a clip, or while supported by a product holder, or (for refillable or rechargeable containers) positioned in a refilling or recharging station. A container can be configured to dispense fluent product(s) while in any of these storage positions or while being held by the user. A container can be configured to dispense fluent product(s) through the use of gravity, and/or pressure, and/or a dispensing mechanism, such as a pump, or a straw, or through the use of other kinds of dispensers known in the art. Some containers can be configured to be filled and/or refilled by a seller (e.g. a merchant or retailer) or by an end user. A container for fluent product(s) should be configured with a structure that allows it to be put to use in any of these ways, or in any other way known in the art, as intended, without failure. A container can also be configured to be disposed of by the end user, as waste and/or recyclable material, in various ways.
One conventional type of container for fluent products is a rigid container made from solid material(s). Examples of conventional rigid containers include molded plastic bottles, glass jars, metal cans, cardboard boxes, etc. These conventional rigid containers are well-known and generally useful; however their designs do present several notable difficulties.
First, some conventional rigid containers for fluent products can be expensive to make. Some rigid containers are made by a process shaping one or more solid materials. Other rigid containers are made with a phase change process, where container materials are heated (to soften/melt), then shaped, then cooled (to harden/solidify). Both kinds of making are energy intensive processes, which can require complex equipment.
Second, some conventional rigid containers for fluent products can require significant amounts of material. Rigid containers that are designed to stand up on a support surface require solid walls that are thick enough to support the containers when they are filled. This can require significant amounts of material, which adds to the cost of the containers and can contribute to difficulties with their disposal.
Third, some conventional rigid containers for fluent products can be difficult to decorate. The sizes, shapes, (e.g. curved surfaces) and/or materials of some rigid containers, make it difficult to print directly on their outside surfaces. Labeling requires additional materials and processing, and limits the size and shape of the decoration. Overwrapping provides larger decoration areas, but also requires additional materials and processing, often at significant expense.
Fourth, some conventional rigid containers for fluent products can be prone to certain kinds of damage. If a rigid container is pushed against a rough surface, then the container can become scuffed, which may obscure printing on the container. If a rigid container is pressed against a hard object, then the container can become dented, which may look unsightly. And if a rigid container is dropped, then the container can rupture, which may cause its fluent product to be lost.
Fifth, some fluent products in conventional rigid containers can be difficult to dispense. When an end user squeezes a rigid container to dispense its fluent product, the end user must overcome the resistance of the rigid sides, to deform the container. Some users may lack the hand strength to easily overcome that resistance; these users may dispense less than their desired amount of fluent product. Other users may need to apply so much of their hand strength, that they cannot easily control how much they deform the container; these users may dispense more than their desired amount of fluent product.
Sixth, when using conventional rigid containers, it can be difficult for a manufacturer to change such containers from one product size to another product size.
Product manufacturers regularly need to change the sizes of their products, by changing the amounts of fluent products in their containers. As a first example, a manufacturer may wish to run a promotion, offering a container with more fluent product, at a particular price point. As a second example, a manufacturer may wish to offer a container with less fluent product at a lower price, to provide a particular value proposition to consumers. These are two common examples, but there are many more. Manufacturers may wish to offer containers with new and/or different amounts of fluent products for many other reasons, such as supply issues, manufacturing limitations, changeover needs, packaging considerations, distribution logistics, regulatory requirements, retailer requests, consumer preferences, competitive responses, market conditions, etc. These product sizing issues become even more complex for manufacturers that have products with many variations in many different markets.
When a product manufacturer offers a fluent product in a conventional rigid container, and the manufacturer needs to change the size of the product, the change usually requires the manufacturer to make and use a new size of container for the new amount. If a manufacturer wishes to offer a product size with more fluent product, then the manufacturer usually cannot significantly increase the amount of fluent product in the original container, because most rigid containers are designed with limited headspaces, which do not allow for overfilling. If a manufacturer wishes to offer a product size with less fluent product, then the manufacturer usually cannot significantly decrease the amount of fluent product in the original container, because there are often limits to underfilling product containers. In some geographies, there are regulations that prohibit manufacturers from underfilling rigid product containers, by a significant amount. Even apart from such regulations, a manufacturer may not wish to significantly underfill a product container, to avoid negative perceptions by end users of the product. For example, even if a manufacturer clearly labels its container with the correct amount of fluent product, if consumers see that the container is significantly underfilled, then the consumers may perceive that the container is not a good value. The consumer may then form a negative association with the brand for that product; this is something the manufacturer wishes to avoid.
Unfortunately, when a product manufacturer offers a fluent product in a conventional rigid container, making a new size of that container can be costly, time-consuming, and challenging to coordinate. Changing the size of a conventional rigid container can be expensive because it typically requires buying a new mold, which, depending on many factors, can cost anywhere from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars. When several new molds are needed, these costs can multiply. Changing the size of a conventional rigid container can be time-consuming because a new mold may take weeks or even months to specify, design, fabricate, ship, and qualify for production.
Changing the size of a product container can be challenging to coordinate because the new size must fit with everything it touches—either directly or indirectly. In manufacturing a container, the container may touch various equipment for making, handling, decorating, labeling, and filling the container. In packaging a container, the container may touch various packaging equipment as well as secondary packaging materials, cartons, cases, and pallets. In supplying a container, the container may touch a wide variety of things, depending on how the container is supplied. When a container is supplied in a retail store, the container touches a store shelf or a merchandising display. When a container is supplied through an on-line retail environment, the container may touch pick bins, handling equipment, and/or shipping containers. In its use, a container may touch a container holder, container dispenser, or container refilling apparatus, among other things. At some point in its use, a container is also likely to be touched and/or held by human hands. For all of these touches, the size of the container must be coordinated to fit. And, of course, the changed product must have an actual size that is true to its label; it must continue to deliver the product in the listed size.
So, although product manufacturers regularly need to change the amounts of fluent products in their containers, doing so can be costly, time-consuming, and challenging to coordinate; as a result, when using conventional rigid containers, it can be difficult for a manufacturer to change such containers from one product size to another product size.